Whats the best Wireless Router to use?

Question

We are hooking it up to a desktop so that 2 laptops may use it wirelessly...please help?

Answer 1

More important than brand is the decision between whether to buy a router that supports 802.11n or just 802.11g.
There is an enormous difference in signal strength that translates into speed and range.
Your budget will be an issue, but for the nominal additional cost I would strongly recommend an 802.11n from Belkin, Linksys or D-link

Answer 2

I have recommended the Linksys WRT54G routers to several customers. It has been the most reliable and has great support. Don't let the salesperson talk you into a N device. For your application with only two computers G should work fine. Also you laptors only have G built in. Make sure you do three things with the router. Set up some type of wireless security, change the default password and set the channel to 11. If you need wireless devices for your laptops, I prefer the USB adapters. They are easy to set up and can be moved around if signal is weak. Be aware pipes in walls, appliances in pathway, mirrors and stone face walls will block the signal. If you have a large house you can get booster antennas for the router that give a decent increase in range.

Answer 3

Best is a relative term.

Wireless routers run from the cheap ones at $70 to over $800. Clearly the $800 is a lot better, more capable, and more rugged.

For home use, there are several moderate units from Linksys, Netgear, D Link, Belkin that many people like. I prefer the moderate priced 3 Com devices for your application. 3 Com's moderate priced devices are more reliable and stable than their low cost devices and 3 Com low cost devices are about the same as the other makers listed above.

If you have no clue how to install a router and you have someone near you who can help, you may best serve yourself by asking that individual for his preferred unit. If you need his help, at least he will be very familiar with your device.

Answer 4

what every the isp offerese for free because its free but if your gona pay inksys is worth the moeny dlink buy far are the worst and 2nd worst is netgear i have had good luck with smc routers but all my smc are wired

if your isp dosnt offer a free wifi router you may want to look into fon www.fon.com its a great community with a great project if you live near a starbucks or anyplace selling wifi access fon will give you a free router the catch is you must share your connection with other fon users you can go into the settings and adjust how much bandwith they can use so you can cap them at low speeds. Fon routers are tiny and they have problems with over heating but hay they are free and really fun to hack